Fbi Agents

If your computer suddenly freezes and the screen says the FBI has locked it because you broke the law, ignore the threat that you'll be locked up unless you pay up. It's the latest scam. A Whitehall Township senior citizen got scared into sending $200 to the crooks. His computer isn't the only one locally that's caught the virus. An Allentown computer shop owner told me he's seen several infected PCs in the past few weeks. The Whitehall man told me his screen turned green last week and a message appeared with the FBI logo.

A suspect in a deadly New Jersey carjacking was tracked to a Palmer Township motel through his cellphone's GPS, according to court documents. It is unclear whether Basim Henry, 32, of South Orange, N.J. - one of four men charged in the Dec. 15 killing of Hoboken attorney Dustin Friedland at a mall in Essex County - had any deeper connection to the Easton area or Lehigh Valley beyond staying at the Comfort Inn on 25th Street. Henry was arrested at the motel early Saturday by FBI agents from the bureau's Newark office.

The bombs are dropping 6,000 miles away in the Persian Gulf, but there remains a fear the war's violence could strike close to home. Concern about terrorism in the United States has the FBI offices across the nation "on full alert," including the one in Lansdale, Bob Cordier, the office's supervisory special agent, reported yesterday. "Where appropriate, we have been in contact with individuals or corporations or establishments that could potentially be a target (of terrorism)," he said.

PHILADELPHIA — Police are searching for three men who they say made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars in the armed robbery of an armored car in the Holmesburg section of the city Thursday morning. Around 9:45 a.m., an FBI spokeswoman said, three men armed with what an initial report described as semi-automatic weapons held up an armored car on the 8000 block of Frankford Avenue. No injuries were sustained in the incident, but Philadelphia police say the men stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the car. FBI officials declined to comment on how much had been taken.

The scam : By now, anyone with an e-mail account must know of the Nigerian 419 scam. You know the pitch: A person unknown to you from Nigeria/Ghana/Ivory Coast/Tanzania, etc. has selected you to receive a share of their vast wealth. All you need to do is provide a bank account number, or wire cash to pay taxes and fees, to get the funds. You're too smart for that, so in the next version of the scam, the crooks try to tell you that too. How it works: Scammers pretending to be from the FBI wrote alert Got Your Back reader Jay and told him they were on top of the latest Nigerian scam.

Cornered in the front bedroom of his Hilltown Township home last month, Darius T. Hill lowered a loaded handgun toward two FBI agents seeking evidence of child pornography, Bucks County's top prosecutor said. Fearing for his life, agent Edward Gallant fired one shot into Hill's chest. A split second later, Hill fired a round from his own .45-caliber gun into his mouth, District Attorney Michelle Henry said. Thinking Hill was returning fire, Gallant and agent Ken Vincent fired six more shots, four of which hit Hill.

By Richard A. Serrano and SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL Richard A. Serrano is a reporter for the Tribune Co. Washington Bureau | May 14, 2010

Those taken into federal custody were being held on alleged immigration violations, and authorities cautioned that the FBI raids were not prompted by a fresh terror threat or a new plot currently under way. Rather, a government source said, investigators are following up leads on how 30-year-old Faisal Shahzad got the cash to buy a $1,300 Nissan Pathfinder and build a fertilizer and propane tank bomb. "These searches are the product of evidence that has been gathered in the investigation subsequent to the attempted Times Square bombing," Attorney General Eric Holder said in testimony on Capitol Hill as the raids were under way. "This is an ongoing investigation and we are actively pursuing all those who were involved in it."

An Upper Mount Bethel man who pleaded guilty in September to conspiring to sell bombs to al-Qaida was sentenced Friday to five years in federal prison. Ronald Grecula, 69, who was once described by his own attorney as "nuts," sought to revoke his plea in a hand-written letter submitted to the court in Houston this week. But U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ignored the motion and set a sentence, which includes three years' probation. Grecula, who has remained in prison since his arrest in Houston in May 2005, could serve 40 months with time served.

A suspect in a deadly New Jersey carjacking was tracked to a Palmer Township motel through his cellphone's GPS, according to court documents. It is unclear whether Basim Henry, 32, of South Orange, N.J. - one of four men charged in the Dec. 15 killing of Hoboken attorney Dustin Friedland at a mall in Essex County - had any deeper connection to the Easton area or Lehigh Valley beyond staying at the Comfort Inn on 25th Street. Henry was arrested at the motel early Saturday by FBI agents from the bureau's Newark office.

The father and stepmother of Edward Snowden, the man who said he leaked news of the government's classified surveillance program, live in Upper Macungie Township and were visited Monday afternoon by two people who identified themselves as FBI agents. Karen Snowden, 48, said the couple had been "bombarded" by media, including ABC's "Good Morning America," since the story broke Sunday. Her husband, Lonnie Snowden, 52, briefly spoke to ABC News on Sunday, saying he had last seen his son months ago for dinner and the two parted with a hug. The elder Snowden told the network he was still "digesting and processing" the news about his son. Edward Snowden revealed himself to the British newspaper The Guardian as the person responsible for outlining the U.S. National Security Agency's practice of monitoring Americans' calls, emails and Internet usage.

The father and stepmother of Edward Snowden, the man who said he leaked news of the government's classified surveillance program, live in Upper Macungie Township and were visited Monday afternoon by two people who identified themselves as FBI agents. Karen Snowden, 48, said the couple had been "bombarded" by media, including ABC's "Good Morning America," since the story broke Sunday. Her husband, Lonnie Snowden, 52, briefly spoke to ABC News on Sunday, saying he had last seen his son months ago for dinner and the two parted with a hug. The elder Snowden told the network he was still "digesting and processing" the news about his son. Edward Snowden revealed himself to the British newspaper The Guardian as the person responsible for outlining the U.S. National Security Agency's practice of monitoring Americans' calls, emails and Internet usage.

James Comey is the grandson of an Irish cop. But it's not the policeman in his DNA that makes him the right choice to run the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It's his deep understanding of the power of secret intelligence. Comey arrived as the No. 2 man at the Justice Department in December 2003, a time of political and constitutional crisis. President George W. Bush had ordered the FBI "to adopt a wartime mentality" after the Sept. 11 attacks, as Bush described it in his memoir.

A Northampton man is being held on federal child pornography charges after allegedly emailing sexually explicit photographs of children to an undercover agent. Jeffrey Kephart, 43, formerly of the 2600 block of Washington Avenue, was arrested Friday when state police and FBI agents raided the home he shared with his girlfriend. Kephart is charged with possession of child pornography and receiving child pornography. Federal prosecutors on Tuesday asked a judge to deny bail for Kephart, citing the potential 30-year prison sentence he faces if convicted and his lack of strong ties to the area.

Stringing up crime scene tape and using a locksmith, the FBI on Tuesday and Wednesday raided the West Palm Beach business of an eye doctor suspected of providing free trips and even underage Dominican Republic prostitutes to U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez - who has denied what he calls the "fallacious allegations. " Agents hauled away boxes and bags of evidence from the medical-office complex of Dr. Salomon Melgen, a contributor to Menendez and other prominent politicians, to start hauling away potential evidence in several vans.

If the heartbreaking school shooting in Newtown, Conn., has left you feeling helpless, you may be inclined to donate to help the community recover. As with any national tragedy, you must proceed cautiously because con artists concoct sob stories designed to divert your well-intentioned donations to them instead. Federal law enforcement authorities, the Better Business Bureau, the Consumer Fraud Center and others have implored those who want to help financially to do so with care.

If your computer suddenly freezes and the screen says the FBI has locked it because you broke the law, ignore the threat that you'll be locked up unless you pay up. It's the latest scam. A Whitehall Township senior citizen got scared into sending $200 to the crooks. His computer isn't the only one locally that's caught the virus. An Allentown computer shop owner told me he's seen several infected PCs in the past few weeks. The Whitehall man told me his screen turned green last week and a message appeared with the FBI logo.

A Stroud Township man was arrested by FBI agents Wednesday at his home in Penn Estates a few hours after he allegedly robbed a credit union in a building in midtown Manhattan where he had worked for more than two decades, officials said Thursday. Robert Vasquez, 43, of 134 Penn Estates, was taken into custody at his bi-level home without incident about 4 p.m., said Stroud Area Regional Police Lt. Brian Kimmins. Kimmins said the department's SWAT team assisted FBI agents when they went to the house to arrest Vasquez.

FBI agents arrested a Maiden Creek Township man Thursday on charges he distributed marijuana and illegally possessed firearms. Allen Joseph Marrella, 53, of Blandon was arrested in the 400 block of Coronet Drive, Blandon. Marrella had been named in an indictment issued in Philadelphia. Marrella was arrested by the FBI with assistance from the Northern Berks Regional Police Department.

A former FBI agent hired by the Philadelphia archdiocese has testified that one priest accuser and his family had money and legal problems. PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A former FBI agent hired by the Philadelphia archdiocese has testified that one priest accuser and his family had money and legal problems. Prosecutors called Jack Rossiter to testify Monday about his 2006 interviews with the Rev. James Brennan. Brennan is on trial for the alleged 1996 sexual assault of a teenage boy. Rossiter said he found the accuser credible, even though the man's criminal record gave him pause.

By Andrew McGill and Patrick Lester, Of The Morning Call | November 21, 2011

Former FBI director Louis J. Freeh will head an independent investigation of the child sex abuse scandal at Penn State University that will look as far back as 1975 as part of the probe. Freeh, also a former federal judge and prosecutor, was introduced at a Monday morning press conference in Philadelphia at which the head of the committee said Freeh will have "complete rein" to conduct the investigation. "Judge Freeh has led some of the most important investigations of our generation," said Kenneth C. Frazier, a Penn State trustee and appointed chairman of the special investigative committee.